Intent #
Establish the atmosphere of the Pompeii dig site and Ulysses' frustration with the lack of results.
Narrative #
Pompeii was a city of ghosts and plaster. Every rock had been catalogued, every silence peer-reviewed.
It had been seven weeks. Not a single goddamn amphora.
"This isn't a church, Ulysses," Dr. Parrini said, his shadow falling long over the grid. "Praying doesn't make artifacts appear."
"Maybe the gods are on break," Ulysses muttered, his voice thick with frustration.
"Everything buried here has a reason," he continued, scraping his trowel against the unyielding earth. "Maybe I just haven't earned mine yet."